Product Development vs. Product Management: What’s the Difference?
The main difference between Product Development and Product Management is that Product Development focuses on creating a new product, while Product Management focuses on overseeing an existing product’s lifecycle.
Before we move to more differences, let’s first understand Product Development and Product Management:
- Product Development: Product Development: Product development is when people work together to create new things that people can use. They think of ideas, make plans, and build prototypes to see if their ideas work. It’s like making a toy or a game from scratch.
- Product Management: Product Management: Product management is like taking care of a toy or a game once it’s made. People make sure the toy or game is good for people to use. They decide how to sell it, how to make it better, and how to keep people happy with it.
Now, let’s get to Product Development vs Product Management:
Major differences between Product Development and Product Management
| Product Development | Product Management |
|---|---|
| Product Development involves creating a product from concept to launch, focusing on design and engineering. | Product Management involves overseeing the entire lifecycle of a product, from ideation to market success. |
| Product Development deals with the technical aspects like prototyping and testing. | Product Management focuses on market research, customer needs, and product positioning. |
| In Product Development, the primary goal is to bring a new product to life. | In Product Management, the main objective is to ensure the product meets market demands and generates revenue. |
| Product Development teams work on shaping the product features and functionalities. | Product Management teams are responsible for setting the product strategy, roadmap, and vision. |
| Product Development is more concerned with the creation and improvement of the product itself. | Product Management is focused on understanding market trends, competition, and customer feedback to make strategic decisions. |
So, these are the main differences between the entities.
Also see:
- Industrial Design vs. Product Design
- Technical Product Manager vs. Product Manager
- Business Analyst vs. Product Manager
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